Developer removes all known traces of pollution from Kirkland siteVoluntarily surpasses state standards; Ecology set to close books on cleanup

The site can come off the state’s list of contaminated sites, according to a
Washington Department of Ecology proposal that also would withdraw a
no-longer-needed court document.

Property developer SRMKII, LLC is building new offices for Google Inc. on the
five-acre site at 451 7th Ave. S. The site formerly housed Pace National, a
chemical mixing and packaging plant. SRMKII completed cleanup work in 2012,
which brought the vacant site to state cleanup standards that protect public
health and the environment.

SRMKII completed that work in late 2013. The company recently submitted a
final report from groundwater monitoring that confirmed the second cleanup’s
success.

The cleanups removed petroleum hydrocarbons, semi-volatile organic compounds,
and chlorinated solvents from soil and groundwater. The first cleanup made the
site ready for redevelopment. The second cleanup occurred as part of the
excavation for the new building.

Ecology has proposed removal of the property from the statewide Hazardous
Sites List and to dismiss the consent decree, filed in King County Superior
Court, under which the first cleanup and the final monitoring were conducted.
Ecology first signed the consent decree with a former owner, Ultra Corp., then
added SRMKII when it purchased the site in 2013.

Ecology invites public comment through January 4, 2016 before taking the
proposed actions. Please send comments to Maura O’Brien, site manager, at Dept.
of Ecology, 3190 160th Ave. SE, Bellevue WA 98008 or at
Maura.Obrien@ecy.wa.gov.